Chair Guiding Device Comprising a Tilting Plate

ABSTRACT

A chair guiding device including: a rail guide that extends between a starting and an end position of a chair receptacle; a carriage, which carries the chair receptacle and is displaceably mounted on the rail guide; and a housing, comprising a base body and a cover on which an elongated hole is incorporated, in which the chair receptacle is arranged so as to be movable back and forth. The rail guide is arranged pivotably about a rotational axis. The rail guide is arranged on a tilting plate, which is pivotably mounted on a revolute joint comprising the rotational axis. The tilting plate, together with the rail guide, is surrounded at least partially by the housing; and a means is provided that can pivot the tilting plate by an angle (α) relative to the horizontal plane EB.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of German patent application no. 102012 100 432.3, filed Jan. 19, 2012.

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to chair guides and, more particularly, to a chairguiding device comprising:

-   -   a rail guide, which extends between a starting position and an        end position of a chair receptacle;    -   a carriage, which carries the chair receptacle and is        displaceably mounted on the rail guide; and    -   a housing, comprising a base body and a cover on which an        elongated hole is incorporated, in which the chair receptacle is        arranged so as to be movable back and forth.

A chair guiding device of the type mentioned above is disclosed in DE 102010 032 265 A1 by the applicant. The rail guide is arranged in a slopedplane, which has a constant angle of inclination relative to the bottomof the housing so that the chair receptacle, and thus the chair, isalways located higher in the end position than in the starting position.Within the travel range, the position of the chair can be fixed by wayof a retaining device holding the carriage. However, the chair guideitself is mounted rigidly in the sloped plane so that the displacementof the chair occupied by a person can also take place only along thesloped movement path thus defined.

In addition, a chair guide comprising a rail guide that is mounted on asloped plane is known from DE 20 2011 001 821 U1, in which the chairreceptacle is associated with a braking device, which is used to holdthe chair in a settable displacement position. In this device, thesloped movement path is also rigidly fixed. Moreover, the disclosedbraking device is a complex assembly comprising sophisticated additionalparts such as springs, cylinders, and magnets. In addition, the carriagecannot be displaced without resistance when the chair is occupied.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Thus, the object of the invention is to develop a chair guiding deviceof the type in question without the use of a braking device, wherein thecarriage carrying the chair receptacle not only automatically returnsthe unoccupied chair to a predetermined starting position, but it isalso assured that a person sitting on the chair can move the chair backand forth, without having to overcome the grade resistance caused by asloped chair guidance when pushing the chair upward, and can keep thechair at any point along the travel range without the user continuallyapplying a force.

Thus, the object of the invention is to develop a chair guiding deviceof the type in question, in which the carriage carrying the chairreceptacle not only automatically returns the unoccupied chair to apredetermined starting position, but it is also assured that a personsitting on the chair can move the chair back and forth, without havingto overcome the grade resistance caused by a sloped chair guidance whenpushing the chair upward. Moreover, the user should be able to maintainthe selected chair position at any point along the travel range, withouthaving to permanently apply a counter force that is directed against thegrade resistance or actuate a braking device.

This object is achieved by a chair guiding device defined in thepreamble by:

-   -   arranging the rail guide pivotably about a rotational axis;    -   arranging the rail guide on a tilting plate, which is pivotably        mounted on a revolute joint comprising the rotational axis;    -   surrounding the tilting plate, together with the rail guide, at        least partially with the housing; and    -   providing a means that can pivot the tilting plate by an angle        (α) relative to the horizontal plane.

Of course, the tilting plate can also be integrated in the housing orform the bottom of the housing. What is essential is that the rail guideis not rigidly arranged, but can be moved about a rotational axis. Therotational axis is preferably oriented perpendicularly to a travel rangeof the carriage defined by the starting and end positions.

A spring element, which can have the broadest design possible, oranother means, for example an eccentric element, can be used as themeans for implementing the pivoting motion of the tilting plate. Theeccentric element can be set in motion by a belt drive, for example.

If the spring element is disposed relative to the pivot bearing on theside of the tilting plate on which also the rail guide is mounted, thespring element is preferably disposed as a compression spring betweenthe tilting plate and the bottom. Provided the spring element cooperateswith a tilting plate that is extended beyond the pivot bearing in anembodiment that is not shown, the spring element can also be disposed asa compression spring between the tilting plate extension and a housingcover or a support that is integrated in the housing.

A tension spring may be used as an alternative to a compression spring,wherein in such an embodiment the spring stop points on the housing mustbe modified accordingly.

The chair guiding device according to the new design principle allowsalmost resistance-free gliding of the chair under the load of the personsitting thereon, because no difference in height must be overcome. Withthis chair guiding device, the sitting person with his or her feet onthe floor is not also required to be supported or to actuate anadditional braking or retaining device so as to maintain the chair inthe desired position.

Preferably a mechanical spring, for example a coil or disk spring, isused as the spring element. However, other spring elements, such as gassprings, and any other resilient or setting elements are alsoconceivable. The preload of the spring can be set to the requirement byway of a setting device. The preload force is to be selected so thatwhen the chair is not occupied, the tilting plate is raised in anyposition of the chair receptacle between the starting position and theend position, and the chair is displaced back into the starting positionlocated at the low end of the travel range.

The spring element can be mounted directly on the bottom of the housingor in an adapted seat. For example, the seat of the spring element canbe a ring element that is provided on the bottom of the housing.

The housing preferably has a cuboid and flattened design so that thiscan be installed in the floor like a building board.

The housing can further be provided for installation in the base plateof an office chair or of a relaxation armchair.

Securely and quickly fastening and removing a chair on the chair guidingdevice is facilitated by equipping the device with a chair receptacle,which is bolted to the carriage and can be detached without detachingthe housing cover. After the chair receptacle is detached, the cover ofthe housing, which contains an elongated hole for allowing the chairreceptacle to be displaced, can be removed and replaced with a differentcover containing no elongated hole. As a result, the optional cover fitsflush in the floor so that the space thus cleared has no uneven areas ordepressions and can be used as a workstation by a person in awheelchair, for example.

The carriage guide is preferably equipped with a ball bearing, whichreduces the frictional resistance.

In a further embodiment, the chair guiding device is optionally providedwith a locking mechanism, which can be triggered and can hold thecarriage, and which can be used to fix the carriage in any arbitrarilyselectable position within the travel range.

For example, this can be at least one magnet, which is provided on thecarriage, for example, and which cooperates with a magnet provided onthe housing, whereby the carriage can be fixed. The magnetic retainingforce is preferably transmitted without contact. In a preferredembodiment, a solenoid is provided so that the chairs, which mayoptionally have been fixed by way of a retaining device, can becentrally (manually or automatically, for example via a fire alarmsystem, or the like) released via a central switching unit, such as inan emergency in a conference room containing a large number of chairsaccording to the invention. All tilting plates then assume the slopedposition so that the chairs move to the starting position therebyclearing the escape routes.

The operational safety is further improved when the elongated hole covercovering the elongated hole in the housing cover is designed to beimpenetrable. This is particularly advantageous, for example, when aheel, which is designed as a “stiletto heel” of a lady's shoe forexample, comes in contact with the strap that closes the elongated holeand can be penetrated. For example, the impenetrable elongated holecover can be designed in the manner of a rigid link chain made of metalor plastic links. The individual chain links, which have a substantiallyflat upper face, are connected via joints to the respective neighboringlinks and can be deflected about deflection rollers, analogous to theuse of a belt. It shall also not be excluded that the strength of thestrap for safe walking is produced in a different manner, for example bysupport elements, which not only support the strap from beneath in theregion of the elongated hole but also yield when the chair is moved backand forth and the base of the chair moves inside the elongated hole. Forexample, the yielding of elements carrying the strap can be implementedin that the individual elements are laterally displaced by the chairbase and returned to the starting positions thereof by a spring afterpassing the chair base.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in more detail in a preferred embodimentbased on the drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a housing of the chair guidingdevice, wherein a chair receptacle that protrudes over an elongated holeis indicated;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of a chair guiding device, with achair placed thereon;

FIG. 3 is a top view onto the chair guiding device with an open cover;

FIG. 4 shows a section A-A according to FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 5 a to 5 d are schematic illustrations of sequences of motions ofthe chair receptacle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a largely closed, cuboid housing 10 comprising arectangular base body 17 and a removable cover 11. The base body 17 hasa bottom 12 and four lateral walls 14.1, 14.2, 14.3, 14.4. An elongatedhole 3, which preferably has a width of approximately 20 mm and fromwhich a socket-shaped chair receptacle 4 protrudes, is cut into thecover 11. The chair receptacle is connected to the carriage 5 by way offastening elements 18, which are preferably screws.

The chair receptacle 4, and thus the entire chair, is detached byloosening the screws 18, which are accessible from outside the housing10. Advantageously detachment of the carriage, or even of the railguide, is not required to remove all elements that are located above atread 9 and can thus form tripping hazards when the chair has beenremoved. The advantage of this design is that the customarily requiredspecialty tools are not necessary to remove the chair leg from the cone.The carriage and rail guide thus remain in the adjusted positionsthereof. If the chair guide and chair are reinstalled when needed, noreadjustment of the carriage and chair guide is required. This isparticularly advantageous because potential warranty claims by the usermay be dependent on the preservation of factory-preset adjustments.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the housing 10 is installed in a floor 7 sothat the cover 11 is flush with the tread 9 of the floor. The chairreceptacle 4 is removably connected to a chair 1 so that the elongatedhole 3 can be closed by a replacement cover, which is not shown and doesnot contain an elongated hole, after the chair receptacle 4 has beendetached.

It is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4 that the chair receptacle 4 isarranged on a carriage 5, which in turn is displaceably mounted on arail guide 6.1, 6.2. The carriage can be displaced from a startingposition A to an end position E, thus creating a travel range V betweenthese two positions. The rail guide 6.1, 6.2 designed as a double railis arranged on the longitudinal sides of a tilting plate 20. Thecarriage 5 is preferably provided with a ball-mounted linear guide sothat the rolling resistance is very low.

If the rail guide is designed as a double rail, the attachment of thetwo rails is preferably designed as a fixed bearing, for example by wayof a non-positive screw connection. One side of the carriage 5 isdesigned as a floating bearing and can thus compensate for stressescaused, for example, by the effects of temperature fluctuations on theexpansion behavior of the materials that are used for the housing 10,rail guide 6.1, 6.2, and carriage 5.

At the end and back faces, the carriage 5 carries two buffers 13.1,13.2, 13.3, 13.4, respectively, which dampen the impact against a stop15 located inside the housing 10 when the respective end and startingpositions are reached.

The position of the stop 15 is designed so that a minor gap 26 (refer toFIG. 1) remains between the chair base and longitudinal hole end in thestarting and end positions and so that the chair base does not strikeagainst the longitudinal hole end.

Belt deflection rollers 8.1, 8.2 are mounted inside the housing 10,which carry a strap 16 (shown schematically; FIG. 3). The strap 16covers the elongated hole in every position of the carriage 5 along theelongated hole 3. The strap 16 is preferably produced from a non-elasticplastic web, wherein the two ends are connected to each other in theregion of the “bottom strand.” The strap 16 is tensioned by way ofdeflection rollers, which can be spring-mounted. On the upper web face,the strap 16 has an opening, which surrounds the chair receptacle 4.When the chair 1 is displaced, the strap 16, which is thus guided oversaid belt deflection rollers 8.1, 8.2, is moved together with the chairreceptacle 4.

At the one end 25.1, the tilting plate 20 is pivotably mounted on arevolute joint 22 (refer to FIGS. 3 and 4) and at the other end 25.2,which corresponds to the end position E of the chair receptacle 4, andrests on a spring element 23.1. The position of the spring element 23.1can also be offset in the direction of the travel range. The backgroundbehind this is that a spring element 23.1 that is arranged close to therevolute joint 22 results in a short lever length. The spring force FK,however, must be sufficiently large to be able to pivot the tiltingplate 20 together with the chair 1 by the angle α, even in this selectedspring position. On the other hand, the weight applied by a person mustbe sufficient to push down the tilting plate 20, together with the chair1, in the other extreme position, which is to say the starting positionA.

The rotational axis 24 of the revolute joint 22 is disposedperpendicularly to the longitudinal orientation of the rail guide 6.1,6.2 or of the tilting plate 20.

A coil spring is used as the spring element 23.1, which is disposedbetween the tilting plate 20 and the bottom 12 and pushes with a springforce FK (refer to FIG. 4) substantially perpendicularly against a lowerface 21 of the tilting plate 20.

The housing 10, together with the tilting plate 20, the spring element23, and the chair receptacle 4 provided on the carriage 5, form a chairguiding device 100 shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4.

FIGS. 5 a to 5 d are schematic illustrations of the sequences of motionsof the chair receptacle 4, with and without a load from the chair user.

FIG. 5 a and FIGS. 2 and 4 correspond to the unloaded chair 1, in aforward chair position (starting position A of the chair receptacle 4).The tilting plate 20 is located in a sloped position 30 relative to thehorizontal bottom 12, which corresponds to an angle of inclination α ofpreferably 1° to 3°. In this sloped position 30, the spring element 23.1is held preloaded by the weight of the tilting plate 20, the rail guide6.1, 6.2, and the chair 1 arranged thereon.

In the forward sitting position (refer to FIG. 5 b), the chair 1 isloaded by the sitting person. The spring element 23.1 is compressed bythe tilting plate 20, which assumes a position 31 parallel to ahorizontal plane EB.

In a rear chair position (end position E of the chair receptacle 4;refer to FIG. 5 c), the tilting plate 20 still remains in the horizontalposition 31. The chair 1 is loaded by the sitting person and compressedby the spring element 23.1.

FIG. 5 d shows a restored position, in which the unloaded chair 1 allowsthe tilting plate 20 to pivot upward. The sloped position of the tiltingplate 20 drives the chair 1 so as to travel back to the startingposition. The carriage 5 travels back to the lower starting position Asimply due to the action of gravity. This takes place because of thepotential energy of the carriage 5 and chair 1 that is released.

In all positions of the chair receptacle 4 shown in FIGS. 5 a to 5 d,the spring element 23.1 pushes with a spring force FK that is directedsubstantially perpendicular to the tilting plate 20 against the lowerface 21 of the tilting plate. The value of the spring force FK changesdepending on the load.

Examples of various features/aspects/components/operations have beenprovided to facilitate understanding of the disclosed embodiments of thepresent invention. In addition, various preferences have been discussedto facilitate understanding of the disclosed embodiments of the presentinvention. It is to be understood that all examples and preferencesdisclosed herein are intended to be non-limiting.

Although selected embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described individually, it is to be understood that at least aspectsof the described embodiments may be combined.

Although selected embodiments of the present invention have been shownand described, it is to be understood the present invention is notlimited to the described embodiments. Instead, it is to be appreciatedthat changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from theprinciples and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined bythe claims and the equivalents thereof.

List of reference numerals 1 chair 2 3 elongated hole 4 chair receptacle5 carriage 6.1, 6.2 rail guide 7 floor 8.1, 8.2 belt deflection roller 9tread 10 housing 11 cover 12 bottom 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4 buffer 14.1,14.2, 14.3, 14.4 lateral wall (of 10) 15 stop 16 strap 17 base body 18fastening elements 19 20 tilting plate 21 bottom face (of 20) 22revolute joint 23 means 23.1 spring element 24 rotational axis 25.1,25.2 end (of 20) 26 gap 30 sloped position 31 position V travel range A;E starting and end positions α angle of inclination EB plane FK springforce 24 rotational axis 25.1, 25.2 end (of 20) 26 gap 30 slopedposition 31 position 100 chair guiding device

I claim:
 1. A chair guiding device (100), comprising: a rail guide (6.1,6.2), which extends between a starting and an end position (A; E) of achair receptacle (4); a carriage (5), which carries the chair receptacle(4) and is displaceably mounted on the rail guide (6.1, 6.2); and ahousing (10), comprising a base body (17) and a cover (11) on which anelongated hole (3) is incorporated, in which the chair receptacle (4) isarranged so as to be movable back and forth, characterized in that: therail guide (6.1, 6.2) is arranged pivotably about a rotational axis(24); the rail guide (6.1, 6.2) is arranged on a tilting plate (20),which is pivotably mounted on a revolute joint (22) comprising therotational axis (24); the tilting plate (20), together with the railguide (6.1, 6.2), is surrounded at least partially by the housing (10);and a means (23) is provided that can pivot the tilting plate (20) by anangle (α) relative to the horizontal plane (EB).
 2. The chair guidingdevice according to claim 1, characterized in that the horizontal plane(EB) is defined by a bottom (12) of the base body (17) or by the cover(11).
 3. The chair guiding device according to claim 1, characterized inthat the means (23) is a spring element (23.1) or another means, forexample an eccentric element.
 4. The chair guiding device according toclaim 3, characterized in that: the spring element (23.1) exerts aspring force (FK) that is greater than the weight acting on the springas a result of the weight of the chair (1), tilting plate (20), andchair receptacle (4) so that the tilting plate (20) is pivoted by theangle (α) relative to the horizontal plane in any chair position whenthe chair is not occupied; the spring element is compressed in theloaded state of the tilting plate (20) so that the tilting plate (20)assumes a horizontal position (31) that is plane-parallel to the plane(EB); and the spring element pushes against the tilting plate (20) witha spring force (FK) that is directed substantially perpendicular to thetilting plate (20).
 5. The chair guiding device according to claim 3,characterized in that the spring element (23.1) is a coil spring.
 6. Thechair guiding device according to claim 3, characterized in that thespring element (23.1) is a gas pressure spring.
 7. The chair guidingdevice according to claim 3, characterized in that the spring element(23.1) is made of an elastomeric material.
 8. A chair guiding deviceaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the spring element (23.1) ismounted on the bottom (12) of the housing (10).
 9. A chair guidingdevice according to claim 1, characterized in that the sloped position(30) of the tilting plate (20) in the unloaded state corresponds to anangle of inclination (α) of 0° to 15°, preferably 1° to 3°.
 10. A chairguiding device according to claim 1, characterized in that the tiltingplate (20) is formed by the bottom (12).
 11. A chair guiding deviceaccording to claim 1, characterized in that the housing (10) is cuboid.12. A chair guiding device according to claim 1, characterized in thatthe housing (10) is suited for installation in a base plate of an officechair or of a relaxation armchair.
 13. A chair guiding device accordingto claim 1, characterized in that the cover (11) of the housing (10)comprising an elongated hole (3) can be replaced with a cover having noelongated hole.
 14. A chair guiding device according to claim 1,characterized in that the fastening elements used for fastening thechair receptacle (4) can be accessed from outside the housing (10).